APCNews 124 – Visualising data for democracy

APCNews
- July 12 2010 - Year XI Issue 124 - The third report from APC and
Hivos in the Global Information Society Watch series is on “access to online information
and knowledge to advance human rights and democracy”. It
reveals how vulnerable the internet as we know it is and unpacks key
issues – including open standards and access to educational materials
and libraries. For the first time GISWatch also includes an innovate
section that visually maps global rights as seen through an analysis of
Google searches, as well as a visual analysis of tweets sent out during
the 2009 Iranian political crisis, which we feature in this edition of
APCNews.

MONTEVIDEO (Rogers, Fieke
Jansen, Michael Stevenson and Esther Weltevrede for GISWatch) - In a
unique study, researchers from the Netherlands asked, if you type the
word “rights” into Google.co.uk, do you see the same types of rights in
the top ten search results as if you type “derechos” (rights in
Spanish) into the Argentinian Google? The answer is no. The
search results showed that the “rights of the over-indebted” is unique
to Ivory Coast as was the “right to education in a native sign
language” to Finland. The results –which have been turned
into a unique rights-map-- together with an analysis of tweets during
the 2009 Iranian election crisis are published in Global Information
Society Watch 2009 which highlights the use of online information for
advancing democracy and human rights. More
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CALGARY 8 July 2010 (LC for
APCNews) – As part of its plan to bring an end to violence against
women in the country, Cambodia’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs will set
up a Gender Issues Observatory, the first of its kind in the country.
The news was announced at a workshop organised by the Ministry and APC
member Open Institute as part of the Take Back the Tech! To end
violence against women initiative in twelve countries. More
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SOFIA (BlueLink for APC) -
campaign to expose illegal logging is a new wall against the extinction
of forests in Bulgaria. The campaign combines digital tools and green
activism in an online system for filing whistle-blower alerts. More
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BUDAPEST (Green Spider for APC)
- APC member in Budapest, Green Spider, is challenging Facebook and
YouTube by offering a home-grown Web 2.0 suite for Hungarian activists.
“In the face of the overwhelming monoculture of corporate social
networking tools, the service has taken off amongst grassroots
activists, community organisers and charities in the Hungarian social
and environmental movement,” says Green Spider. More
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JOHNANNESBURG (Sally-Jean
Shackleton for GenderIT) - A draft Bill proposing a ban on sexual
content on the internet and cellphones submitted to the South African
Department of Home Affairs in May 2010 claims to have the best
interests of women and children in mind but has set alarm bells ringing
in the women’s movement. “The Bill equates women with children –taking
a protectionist approach to the rights of women-- and promotes state
censorship,” says Sally-Jean Shackleton, director of Women'sNet, a
feminist technology organisation based in Johannesburg. More
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